International School: Failing to Celebrate Failures
- Pencil Case | 22foramoment.wixsite.com/every-day
- Jan 12, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2022
Did you know that October 13 is International Day for Failure, where people are encouraged to embrace failure?
Last week I came across a refreshing comment by a parent on their school video, encapsulating how the school approached education - where children are encouraged to make mistakes.
Click video from @Erudio.Indonesia's Instagram below:
In contrast, I was brought back to a time a few years ago where I had published an article on the city tabloid, on behalf of an international school in Jakarta I was working for. It read:
Failure is not an option. It's a requirement - is the quote that hangs in the classroom walls of Helen Snodgrass, a teacher in the US, as a constant reminder of how powerful learning occurs when people have to struggle and fail a few times along the way.
She believes that as teachers we take on the lead to provide students the skills and confidence to embrace opportunities without the overwhelming fear of failure.
Original article:
Moments later, the School Principal walked into my office where I received a reprimand, as some teachers (native-English speakers who had no issues with language comprehension) had brought the article to his attention and were expressly displeased at what was written.
As I walked along the school corridors too, a few teachers gave me ridiculing remarks about the article.
I responded for them to read the article. They said they had.
I felt less surprised, than sorry for their students.
Sadly I learned that this private international school that charges one of the highest school fees in the nation, apparently did not see mistakes and failures as key to growth and learning.
Lesson: When looking for schools, do interview school leaders on their attitudes towards "non-conforming behaviours" - how they identify and respond to students' motivations, failures, dishonesty, anger, frustrations, insecurity, conflicts
and speak to different parents, because academic qualifications, facilities and school fees may not always be the best indicators of the quality of education your children will get.
Attitudes and emotional cues that children pick up from school leaders can influence their values and behaviour through to adulthood.
Eventually our children will go out into the world facing various setbacks, conflicts, and difficult people, that we hope they've been exposed enough to a truly educational and positive environment that help them become resilient, decent and compassionate people.
Any school experiences lately? What do you think is the future of education?
Share your thoughts and comments below on how you think the quality of school education for our children could be improved.
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